We generally make a note when Wanstead appears in ads, on TV or films, and in books. Remember Belgique appearing in Robert Galbraith’s Troubled Blood? Or last year’s appearance in Jonathan Coe’s The Proof of My Innocence.
This new appearance trumps that… an appearance of the traffic lights on Aldersbrook Road in the actual winner of the actual Booker Prize. Spotted by longtime Wansteadium reader Martin Talbot.
Reaching Wanstead has taken a good few years, but food waste bins and collection are finally here as part of a Redbridge-wide rollout. More recycling has to be a good thing, but one consequence may be that it will be impossible to avoid noticing just how much food goes to waste in the first place.
In case you missed the instructions on how to use the bins, they are here.
In short, these items CAN go in the bins:
But not welcome are oils , liquid fat, garden waste, animal bedding, packaging of any kind (though a biodegradable liner is all right), or liquids like milk which could cause spillage.
All the waste is heading towards Dagenham where is going to be used to produce bio-gas for electricity and heat, and a bio-fertiliser. Crucially it captures methane which is 25 times worse than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.
So food waste collections – bravo.
Wanstead’s opera star Lucy Crowe’s acclaimed performance in Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Royal Opera House can now be heard by everyone thanks to BBC Sounds.
Congratulations to Wanstead’s opera star Lucy Crowe whose run at the Royal Opera House in Mozart’s Magic Flute has won her an amazing set of reviews.
The Guardian said: “Crowe sparkled from the get-go, her tone warm, her phrasing exquisitely controlled.” The Times said: “Lucy Crowe spins her golden tone effortlessly as Pamina, her aria achingly beautiful.” And Opera Online said she was “a brilliant Pamina,” adding that “while her soprano generally feels glistening and radiant, the range of nuances she brings to it is quite staggering.”
You can also hear Lucy via BBC Sounds which this week described her as “superstar soprano” – her performance in Handel’s Rodelinda is available for the next month here.
And while we’re on the subject of Wanstead talent, here is our fellow resident Jay Perry, star of the West End stage and currently playing Aaron Burr in Hamilton, singing the National Anthem at an NFL game earlier this month.
Bravo all round.
Frustrated commuters who haven’t been able to use the ticket barriers on the London-bound Snaresbrook platform for more than a year have had an update from TfL – it looks like a fix (presumably to the water leaking down the stairs) is on its way, but it’s not going to be quick.
Confirmation at last that Wanstead Dry Cleaners, next to Boots on the High Street, will not be reopening. It had been thought the premises was being refurbished, but it’s now clear that the whole building has been sold and renovation work is taking place.
Apparently, so we are told, young people go online for their dry cleaning nowadays, insofar as they need it because so many are working from home. Sending a van to pick up and deliver clothes to be cleaned is apparently more efficient than paying rent and rate on a high street location. Hence dry times for dry cleaners.
The future for the prime retail site is not yet known, but one can hazard a few guesses. It’s unlikely to be a bookshop.
But for now, to the former staff of Wanstead Dry Cleaners, thank you for your service of more than 20 years. And good luck with your impressive collection of trainers.
